System sensor spectralert advances

Are spectralerts advanced annoying

  • Yes
  • No
0 voters

are system sensor spectralert advances annoying :?

Are kiddies that hate Spectralert Advances annoying? Yes.

I don’t know why people think that Advances are “annoying”. They make a high pitch, loud noise that is designed to alert people of a fire. Just like almost anything else produced in the last 20 years.

Let’s put it this way. Any fire alarm signal is meant to alert all occupants of the building to leave. The sound is not designed to be pleasant to the ears, it is designed to be loud and attention-grabbing. That’s why for the most part, you don’t hear fire alarms outputting a nice, melodic, steady tone (like the MASS that can be set to output either 800 or 2400Hz) but rather a dissonant, “broadband” tone. I’d imagine fire alarm signal manufacturers spend months researching the most distinct, attention-grabbing sound they can use with their signals; their sound is specially-designed to assault your ears and make your brain prioritize that sound first and foremost. Want to stop hearing that grating sound? Leave the building.

So, while you may find the sound of a Spectralert Advance annoying, it’s annoying for a reason. To save your skin in the event of a fire. Remember, fire alarms are not toys.

What?! Your telling me the Wheelock MT I just had my mom buy on Ebay isn’t a toy? And that panel I keep asking some guy on YouTube for isn’t a toy either?! :shock:

:stuck_out_tongue:

Sarcasm aside, I agree. They’re designed to be alerting.

You could almost say…

It’s Spectralerting…

I guess a lot of people (including me) aren’t too fond of them because they think they sound more obnoxious than most alarms, and also because of their ubiquity. Although I agree that alarms are supposed to be attention-grabbing and not “pretty”, you could also argue that they shouldn’t be so loud and obnoxious that they induce panic. I don’t know if the Advance is quite at that level, but nonetheless I think an MT/AS/NS/Spectralert Classic type tone was more than sufficient. Or better yet, a deep buzz like the TrueAlert or Integrity.

I’d rather an alarm induce panic than sound “pretty”. Are you panicking? Good. Leave the building.
I understand if it causes so much panic that whoever hears it doesn’t think about evacuating safely and logically, but for the most part building staff are trained to assist in the evacuation.
My only gripe with them is that they look ugly. The inner Jony Ive in me is bothered by the thick, bulging chassis and bulbous strobe, at least for the wall-mount version. Stick a white ceiling-mount one on a white ceiling and I’m fine with it. That’s why if I had the choice I’d install something low-profile, like an LED Exceder.

That was so terrible I think you gave me cancer.

Anyways, the good thing about the Spectralert Advance’s distinct timbre is that it is very distinctive, even in an industrial setting with lots of other warning signals.

I voted yes, but only because they seem to be EVERYWHERE. Other than that, I don’t really care but damn, give some other alarms a chance why don’t you? There are plenty of other horns that want to be used also. :stuck_out_tongue:

What I find strange about my area is it’s lack of Advances. They are by no means an uncommon alarm, but the majority of the new systems installed around here have Exceders or E-XX alarms, even on Honeywell systems.

I voted YES for this reason as well. They are EVERYWHERE around where I live. Most recently, they’ve just been installed in our Volvo dealership, which kind of surprised me. Our other Volvo dealership (about 30 minutes away) has a Simplex 4010 with TrueAlerts. I’m sure that the system of choice (Tyco Integrated Security) was the most budget-friendly, but I still am surprised that they didn’t use Simplex as well. Then again, this dealership is an independent unit, while the other is part of a conglomerate; they have Honda/Acura, Volvo, Nissan, BMW, Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/RAM, Ford, and MINI dealerships all in a “conga” line down one major thoroughfare, and all of them have Simplex systems.

they’re all annoying, but i very much prefer almost any alarm to that screeching sound the system sensors make.

I did this so I can see what the results are.because when you see the word spectralert advances you think of screech noises but the p2r has a chime option so thats why I think there not annoying

No it doesn’t… The chime and whoop tones are only on the CHSR.

Well I do see them everywhere, and it annoys me that they often use them to replace rare old alarms (like at my college, or the school I went to for kindergarten.) And they do seem to be one of the loudest electronic horn/strobes currently on the market when set on medium to high volume, but I found out from working at Walmart that they aren’t too bad on low volume (our break room had one in it that was most likely set on low.) They’ve become so ubiquitous that I’m surprised some sound editor/designer hasn’t recorded one and then used and distributed as a stock sound effect for movies and television (ala the “Wilhelm Scream” or something.)

I should be glad my school got off easy then because while they did get SpectrAlert Advances, it looks like they got speaker strobes instead. Just like my college did.

the newer codes require voice evac for educational facilities, so they’ll all go this way eventually.

And other companies do voice evac alarms for places so why can’t schools use them instead of just the normal boring Advances? Other speaker/strobes are just as good as they are, and might prevent fatigue from all of them being around all the time.

The schools themselves don’t really have a say in the actual alarms installed, and quite honestly I don’t think they care. The district will put the job up for bid, and whichever qualified company offers the lowest cost (known as the “lowest qualified bidder”) will be awarded the job. At that point, the actual signals that will be used is up to them. SpectrAlerts are inexpensive and generally go along with smaller systems (they aren’t used by companies that offer high-end addressable systems, Simplex, CP/Siemens, etc.) so therefore their popularity makes sense.

Can I just say what annoys me the most is the retarded new building code in our area where the fire alarms have to be installed in the classrooms not just in the hallways and (note my high school has all SpectraAlert Advances) honestly the SpectraAlert Advances are sufficiently loud enough to be just in the hallways. Like not only did they put them in the classrooms but there not even on low volume there on like medium volume there excessively loud like wouldn’t low volume be enough for a classroom? Anyways there a heart attack (or mabye not a lot but some permanent hearing loss) waiting to happen honestly I can’t be startled I have some kind of problem with that that I can’t handle so I’m good friends with the principals and security guards at my school and they usually tell me when to expect a fire drill so I put headphones in to prepare and it still gets me but it’s not as bad. It’s not so much the ear shattering noise that scares the s** out of me the most it’s getting startled by such a loud noise it’s about 1000 times worse then someone sneaking up behind you and yelling “boo” and that gets me. Here’s my complaint why couldn’t they just put the horn/strobe alarms only in the hallways and the large areas that get loud such as the cafeteria, gym and auditorium and only put strobes in the classrooms like they do in the bathrooms heck since they have to make sound in the classrooms why not horn/strobes in the hallways and chime strobes in the classrooms not full on horn/strobes but since they put in horn/strobes why do they have to put them on like medium volume in a f** classroom like it’s a f** classroom it’s not a f** gymnasium where it naturally gets loud with students and loud music playing during phys-ed. My point is fire alarms are important for safety obviously but there comes a point where the building code is excessive and there is a greater chance of someone dieing from a heart attack from getting the s** scared out of them during the required monthly fire drills then them dieing in a building fire.

P.S I know the school has no say in where the alarms are installed and the volume and the type of notification device weather it be a horn/strobe or strobe or chime strobe and I’m not complaining to the school I’m complaining to whoever is in charge of deciding the building codes and honestly if I actually get a heart attack during a fire drill and get my heart restarted with a defibrillator and survive I will sew the s** out of who ever decided to put fire alarms with such high volumes In classrooms.